Electric wall-box.



J. G. RAQUETTE.

ELECTRIC WALL BOX.

I M v APPLICATION FILED MAY 25, 1912: RENEWED FEB. 27, 1914. 1 1 O4, 930.

Patented July 28, 1914.

M1 O H I I H 2 A r 1. m .N/ .QM, f \i\ 7 O w M3 I X: I i .l m w a V w? m 7 2 9N gveazozf UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH G. RAQUETTE, F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE UNIVERSAL SWITCH BOX (30., A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

ELECTRIC WALL-Box.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 25, 1912, Serial No. 699,624. Renewed February 27 1914. Serial No. 821,573.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Josnri-r G. RAQUETTE,

. a citizen of the United States of America,

residing at Cleveland, in the county of Guyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Irmyrovements in Electric \Vall-Boxes; and I hereby declare the following to. be a full, clear, and exact-description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same. This invention relates to electric wall boxes or outlet boxes which are used when wiring a building for anclectric installation and are designed to receive switches, fuse blocks and the like.

The invention relates particularly to electric wall boxes having such a construction that a number thereof can be readily assembled 1n a gang when necessary.

One object of the invention to provide a'wall box of this description which can be cheaply manufactured and'which when used alone will form a complete and substantial box, and'which can be readily and rigidly secured to another box when it is desired to form a gang.

My invention therefore consists in certain new and improved features of construction and combination of parts, the preferred form of which is described in the specification, pointed out in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is aside view of a wall box embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same with the detachable side removed. Fig. 3 is a section on line 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 3 showing twowall boxes combined in a gang. Fig. 5 is a section on. line 5-5, Fig. 2, part being broken away.-

In the accompanying drawings, and referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2-, 3 and 5, the back of the box is indicated by 10, the top of the box by 11 and the bottom of the box by 12. The back is preferably inclined forwardly at the top and bottom, as shown at 10 and the top and bottom are formed integral with the back. The sides of the box, shownat 14 and 15, are similar in shape, and each is provided with a tongue which extends down from the bottom edge, the tongues being indicated by 1 1' and 15, respectively; Near the top edge of each side is formed a key-hole slot, shown at 1 1 and 15 respectively. The side 1-1 is permanently secured in position and the side 15 is detachably secured in position so that it may be readily removed when it is desired to form a gang of boxes. The method of securing the permanentside 14; in position is as follows: Near the top and bottom edges of said Side areformed slots 9; At one edge of the top 11 the material thereof is forced in, as at 16, and is also extended to form a lug 17. Similarly at the corresponding edge of the bottom-12 the material is forced in as at 18, and is extended out to form a lug 19. It will therefore be seen that the said lugs 17 and 19 project from the edges of the top and bottom in planes below and above the re"- spective inner faces of said top and bottom and are arranged to extend into the slot 9 in the said side 14, whereby a much firmer joint is secured than if the said lugs were dove-tailed in slots formed at the edges of said side portions.

Afterthe said lugs 17 the lugs are upset to prevent their withdrawal. The method of securing the detachable side 15 in position is as follows: At the edge of the top 11 is formed a vertically depending car 23 having a screw-hole 24, and at the corresponding side of the bottom is formed a horizontally arranged lip 26 having a slot 27. The removable side 15 is secured in position by inserting the tongue 15 into the slot 27 in the lip 26anda screw 29 is passed through the key-hole slot 15 into the screw-hole 24 in the car 23.- In the back 10 are formed a series of openings 30 to permit the entrance of the conductors into the box and similar openings 30 are formed in the permanent side 14 to permit wires from one box to be carried to the other box when the boxes are arranged in gangs. These openings are temporarily closed by means of plugs 31 and 31 respectively which can be readily displaced when the box is being set and'after the location of the wires has been determined. At the top and bottom of the box are secured detachable and adjustable bracket members 33 by means of which the box can be' secured in position in the opening in the wall.

When it is desired to use one or more boxes in a gang, two boxes for instance, as shown in Fig. 4, the removable s ide 15 is detached from one of the boxes and the pet" manent side of the other box is placed against the open side of the box from which the removable side has been detached and the downwardly extending tongue 14: on the permanently secured side is slipped into the slot 27 in the lip 26 on the bottom of the box from which the side was removed and a screw 29 is then passed through the key-hole slot 15 into the screw hole 24 in the ear 23 depending from the top of the box from which the side was removed, there by rigidly'securingthe two boxes togetherh By providing boxes with one removable side it is only necessary when forming a gang to have one complete box, that is one box with two sides, the remaining boxes need only have one side, that is the permanent side. In this way there is a saving of one side in all boxes added to the first box. Also there is an economy in space as each box is separated from the one next by aspacer forming side which. of course has only the thickness of a single sidevand not a double thickness as when two complete boxes are placed together.

What I claim is,

1. An outlet box comprising a rear wall, a top wall formed integral therewith and provided at one side with a projecting lug which extends outwardly in a plane below the lower surface of said top wall and at its opposite side with a depending ear pro vided with a screw-hole opening, a bottom wall formed integral with said rear wall and provided at one side with a lug which extends outwardly in a plane above the upper surface of said bottom wall and at its opposite side with a horizontally arranged slotted lip, a side wall provided at its upper end with a slot arranged to register with the lug on the top wall and at its bottom with a slot arranged to register with the lug on the bottom wall and a side wall provided with a key-hole slot arranged to register with the screw-hole in the ear on the top member and at its lower end with a tongue arranged to extend into the slot in the lip on the bottom wall -and a screw adapted to pass through the key-hole slot in the lasta downwardly depending ear having ab scrmv-hole arranged to register with the key-hole slot in the side of the complete box and said bottom wall at the open side having a horizontally extending lip provided with a slot arranged to receive the downwardly extending tongue on the side of the complete box and a screw passing through the key-hole slot in the side of the complete box and into the screw-hole in the depending car on the top of the open sided box.

3. In a gang construction for-outlet. boxes, the combination of a complete box having a permanently secured side and a removably secured side, the said permanently secured side being provided near its upper end withan opening for the ,passage of a screw and along its bottom edge with a downwardly extending tongue and an open sided box, the top wall of which at the open side being provided with a downwardly extending earprovided with an opening for a screw and the bottom wall of said box at the open side thereof being provided with tongue on the permanently secured side of the complete box and a screw extending through the permanent wall of the complote box into the ear depending from the top wall of the open sided box.

In testimony Whereof, I sign the foregoing specification, in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH Gr. RAQUET'IE.

lVit-nesses v vio'i'on C. LYNCH,-

N. L. MoDoNNnLL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commission er of Patents, Washington, D. 0." 

